Kimetsu no Yaiba: Hyakki Yagyō (One-Shot)
by LoneTaker
Summary: A tale of outsiders in a world between mutual predator and prey. Demons and Demon Slayers alike are about to celebrate in this festival of calamitous hedonism and frenzy.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba**

**The only thing I own in this fic are my OCs, and the sheer ridiculousness of a story that will take place.**

**Please enjoy this one-shot fic of Spring 2019's most unanimously praised anime (Because ufotable are staffed by _gods_, apparently).**

* * *

Demons.

Creatures that were once human, now hunts and devours their former kind.

Once beings of character, now divulged into their most base desires, making them no less than animals that need to be put down.

For everyone's sake, including theirs.

But who can do such deeds in order to preserve the greater goodwill of man?

The Demon Slayer Corps, an organized militia specialized in hunting and tracking demons that have disturbed the populace, and keeping the existence of both parties a secret to the public eye.

But this is _neither_ of their stories.

This is a story...

... Of _outsiders_.

And their lives within the human society that both the fated mutual prey and predator shy away from public disclosure.

And in a world where neither human or demon are safe...

... From a certain_ seven_ that lead the _hundred_.

* * *

_**Kimetsu no Yaiba: Hyakki Ya**_**_gyō_**

* * *

It was a day before the Sanja Festival.

Ever since sunup, the streets were sprawling with people running about, carrying costumes, half-built portable shrines and floats being assembled, and paper lanterns slung on long wooden rods.

The sun was still up in the blue sky, and preparations were being made without cease.

A young man in his mid-twenties dressed in Western-style clothing, white suit shirt, beige overalls, and a plain-black bowler hat, a pair of black gloves covering his hands, wanders aimlessly with flyer in hand, until he passes by a shrine being built next to a building.

"Excuse me!" The young man asked the men building the shrine.

One of them, a middle-aged man with a well-built muscles bulging out of his blue worker's hakama jacket and loincloth, approaches him.

"Can I help ya with somethin'!?" The man barked out.

The young man then presents a flyer stating,** "Need volunteer workers to at Asakusa Temple****"**.

"You know where Asakura Shrine is?" The young man asked. "I just got back from America, and I kinda need to refamiliarize with my old stomping grounds."

"Asakusa's that way." The worker then pointed towards his right. "Don't get lost again, you hear!?"

The young man nods.

"Hey!" The man barked out. "Before you leave, you mind telling me your name?"

The young man smiles.

"Name's Hyosuke." The young man beamed. "Hakanai Hyosuke (Last, First)."

"... Kinda ominous for a name." The man grumbled as the young man ran off towards Hie Shrine. "Who the hell names their kid as a _helpful soldier that is fleeting_?"

With those thoughts lingering back into his depths of his subconsciousness, the man gets back to working on the statue of the _Ryugami_.

"Those gleaming _red eyes_..." The man muttered. "... Nah, must be fatigue."

* * *

_**Next Morning...**_

* * *

The day of Sanja Festival has now arrived, and preparations have now been complete.

The shrines are now fully assembled, the costumes have now been sewn to the last detail, and Hyosuke himself was stepping out of the inn's entrance as the sun is now shining up the blue sky.

"Oi!" The same well-built middle-aged man meets up with Hyosuke.

"Hey, you're that same old man that I met last evening." The young man remarked while slinging his carpet bag over his shoulder.

"Oi, I have a name, ya know." The man stated.

"Pardon me. It sort of slipped my mind to ask you in the first place." Hyosuke apologizes.

"Hey, it's all right." The man stated. "Name's Ishikawa Gentarou, kiddo. You wanna come with me for breakfast? On me."

"Sorry." Hyosuke replied. "I already have plans to meet up with my friends coming here."

"All right." Gentarou stated. "Maybe next time, Hakanai-san."

"The same, Ishikawa-san."

The two bow at each other before parting.

In the waking streets of Tokyo, the Western-clothed Japanese young man searches around for his friends.

He then spots a brown-haired young woman in a plain dark-blue kimono under a dark-red hakama jacket draped over her slim shoulders.

"Akane!" Hyosuke shouted out.

The girl in the blue kimono then turns around and runs towards him.

"Hyosuke-kun!" The girl cried out while waving at him.

The two then give each other a warm hug.

"How was America?" Akane asked gleefully.

"It was an experience." Hyosuke answered. "Did you also get that letter that I sent a few months back?"

She then takes out the letter reading the following:

**To Saga Akane,**

**Over my past two years in America, I have met all kinds of people and got to experience all kinds of things during my time there.**

**I learned accounting and measuring two foreign currencies from each other, I made new friends in my university years, and above all else, I got to see the world that is beginning to move faster than the human perception can fathom.**

**I hope that upon my return, I hope that I get to share all that I've learned and seen with you, meet all of the wonderful friends that I've made back in California to you and my old friends back home, and most of all,**

**I hope that I make it by the time of your 23rd birthday.**

**With all due respect and heartfelt sincerity,**

**Hakanai Hyosuke**

Akane is then presented with a small plush box with a thin ribbon on it.

Hyosuke then kneels down as he opens the box, revealing a pearl ring in a velvet cushion.

"Cliche setup aside, the answer is a definitive_ 'yes'_." Hyosuke confirmed.

Akane is completely loss for words as her tearing red eyes.

"Saga Akane..." The young man asked. "On the 14th day of May, year 1915 of the Taishō Period... will you say 'yes'?"

"YES!" She shouted out. "YES HYOSUKE! YES!"

The ring is then slipped onto her finger after the post-proposal hysteria has passed.

Behind the two newly-betrothed, a massive cluttering sound was heard.

From the debris, five figures appeared out of the kicked-up dust.

Three Japanese, consisting of two males and one female, with one male and female in Western-styled clothing, a beige-colored tailored suit and a plain-looking blue calico dress under a white apron, and the other in traditional green kimono with a Western-style straw sun hat on his head.

The other two consisted of a black male and a blonde female, both in Western-style overalls, white shirts, and covered in coal from head to toe. The young man was carrying two large briefcase in his hands, while the blonde woman was carrying a large wooden cello travel case behind her back.

"Yosuke! Nami! Mori!" Hyosuke cried out. "Benson! Sigrun!"

"Congrats!" Yosuke said while dusting himself off. "Sorry bout' the scare, but we wanted to make it a surprise for all of y'all."

"It's about damn time." Mori stated. "It took about roughly a thousand years to finally spit it out, but congrats, you did it!"

"You two were always meant for each other." Nami smiled. "As friends since childhood, I shall support you along the way."

"You son of a bitch!" Benson slapped Hyosuke's back with a grin. "You dragged all of us all the way from the states just so you can rub your engagement in all of our faces!? Aw hell naw!"

"Regardless, I'm proud of you, Hakanai-san!" Sigrun beamed in her surprisingly fluent (yet still accented in her German tongue) Japanese. "And nice to meet you, Saga-chan! My name is Sigrun Edelgard! And as you can see, I'm an aspiring musician!"

"Name's Benson Forest! And I'm the darndest fine oddjob and the biggest lover of food from my town!" Benson spoke out in a heavily-accented Japanese. "Nice to meet the lady friend of my friend from the opposite West!" The black young man then shakes her hand. "So what are you fine fellows' names? We never really got know properly introduce ourselves, plus thought it be a good way to introduce ourselves." He spoke to the three Japanese next to them.

"Allow me." The Japanese young man in the straw hat spoke. "My name is Murasaki Mori. A longtime friend of those two lovers, and middle manager and a three-time 'employee of the month' at the shipment docks at Yokohama!"

"My name is Urashiko Nami." The Japanese lady in the calico dress stated in a soft tone. "Also longtime friend those two, and making a living as a waitress at a snack shop at sunlight, and at an izakaya at moonlight. I hope we can get along in the foreseeable future." She then bowed her head at the two Westerners as a form of gesture.

"Name's Ikaruga Yousuke!" The Japanese man in a suit said with a toothy grin on his face. "Met my man back at Osaka _waaaay_ long back. Two of us got wasted, and now, working as a traveling salesman for clocks and telephones around the ever-sunny Nippon! Pleasure to finally know y'all fine folks from the other side of the globe!"

"I'm been wondering..." Akane mused at the two Westerners. "... Why are the two of you covered in coal dust?"

"Two of us had to stow away in the boiler room." Benson stated. "The Captain let us off the hook by making us both feed the steamboat's engine for the whole trip."

"On the bright side, we didn't have to swim across the whole Pacific." Sigrun grinned sheepishly.

"You kinda had me worried for a bit when I found you guys covered in coal dust." Hyosuke pointed out. "Hopefully, your lungs don't turn black from the coal..."

"Let's hope not!" Benson beamed. "I'm starvin'! Anything good to eat around here?"

"Benson, we just ate about an hour ago." Sigrun remarked. "Save the room for lunch later on, got it?"

"Yea yea, sorry bout' me... _bellyachin_'..." Benson then laughs at his own pun.

A few stifle their chuckles.

* * *

**_A Few Hours Later..._**

* * *

The streets of Tokyo were now sprawing with people in their yukatas and shrines and floats being carried all the way towards Asakusa Temple.

Upon the clock striking at noon, the Senja Festival has begun.

As crowds and parades flooded the streets, the seven gathered friends, all of them sitting by the snack shop eating dango as the people went by to witness the festivities.

"So Hyosuke..." Akane asked. "When are we going to the festival grounds at Asakusa Shrine?"

"No need for rush." Hyosuke answered. "The festivities last until Sunday, so we can take our time enjoying the pleasures that it has to offer."

"So... what are they serving this year?" Benson asked while wiping his drool from his lips. "Please tell me they still have the yakitori that you told me about."

"I saw a bunch of hot iron grills being set up around the festival grounds, and a word that a large shipment of batter, produce, and a surplus of meat and seafood were on their way."

"... Okonomiyaki." Benson gulped in anticipation. "Hyosuke, you're my hero."

"Save the thanks after the sun goes down, alright?" Hyosuke replied.

"Gotcha gotcha, Hakanai-san." Benson casually remarked.

Nami then glances at Sigrun.

"Hm?" Sigrun glanced back at Nami. "What's wrong?"

"... You've been looking rather tense ever since yesterday." Nami commented. "Is something the matter-"

Hyosuke covers her mouth with his hand.

"... Please don't." He stated. "Just. Don't."

The girl in the calico dress then nods, now being slightly aware of Sigrun's little... _issues_.

The German girl looked like she was breaking out into a fervent sweat while keeping a forced smile, as if a simple provocation can cause a dynamite to explode inside of her chest, and that facade was the only thing that she had that bomb from going _boom_.

"Urashiko-chan." Sigrun stated in a disturbingly serene tone. "I have a travel case with me for a reason."

"And let's leave at that, y'all." Yosuke intervened.

The seven on the snack shop's bench go into an awkward silence.

"... You guys stay here." Hyosuke stated. "I need to go buy something for you all."

The man then begins to walk across the parade, avoiding physical contact with other people marching down the streets.

And just as he neared the other side of the street, Hyosuke bumps into someone's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Hyosuke turned around and apologized.

The man that he bumped into was a young man with messy black hair flowing down his back, his eyes were blue as the ocean's waters, a haori jacket that was half plain plum-red and half green with yellow star-like patterns forming into an interconnected pattern, under it was a plain black uniform with white belts around his waist and both of his ankles, and on him was a katana strapped to his belt.

The man then stares at him for a moment.

"... Just be careful next time." The man then walks away. "There's lots of people coming here today."

Hyosuke wipes a drop of sweat off of his brows before heading into the shop right in front of him.

"Excuse me!" Hyosuke cried out. "Is the tailor here!?"

* * *

_**A Few More Hours Later...**_

* * *

The sun has now finally set, and now the festivities are now in full swing.

Paper lanterns glowing in a reddish-orange light, laughter and merriment everywhere as the eyes can see, and the smell of food cooking on the grills permeated the noses of the attendees.

The seven friends, now in their yukatas (except for Benson, who just opted to bathe and put on clean Western-style pinstripe suit), were walking towards the main temple where the festivities took place.

"C'mon, Hakanai-san!" Benson ran ahead.

"Benson, the food stalls aren't gonna run out, man." Hyosuke stated. "In fact, they should be the ones worried that you might eat all of their food."

"Oh c'mon!" The black young man cried out. "I'll just have one of everything! Just one!"

"Just don't waste the yen Hyosuke gave you and don't come to us for more, okay?" Mori stated.

"I gotta go!" Nami said. "I have to go to one of the stalls and attend to the customers for tonight!"

"See you shortly, Urashika-chan!" Benson then runs off on his own, heading to the yakisoba stand as his starting line.

"Well, holler if any of you get lost, got it?" Hyosuke stated. "Alright then, have fun!"

The group breaks off, with Hyosuke and Akane going as a pair, Sigrun heading towards the yakitori stand where Benson was at, still carrying his two briefcases in one hand, holding onto a bowl of yakisoba on the other, while munching on a taiyaki in his mouth (all under a minute), and Mori and Yosuke went off to socialize with other people.

The engaged couple then head to the goldfish scooping.

"Hey there kiddo."

Hyosuke looks up, and finds Ishikawa Gentarou tending the stall.

"Ishikawa-san!" Hyosuke spoke out. "You work here?"

"Hey, gotta support a daughter and her sick mom somehow." Gentarou remarked. "So I take it that she's with you?"

Akane then show her on her finger.

"Well, I hope you two find happiness." Gentarou stated. "Now care to try your luck?"

Akane then picks up a scoop and a bowl of water right after she rolls her orange yukata's sleeves all the way up to her shoulders.

"Challenge accepted."

Akane's red eyes then leer towards the biggest goldfish that she can find.

A 5-inch-long goldfish Shubunkin.

The _only_ Shubunkin amidst Koaka, Demekin, and Izumo Nankin goldfish swimming in the tub of water.

"That's mine."

She then readies her scoop.

"Careful lady." Gentarou pointed out. "That one's a whopper."

"You can do it, Akane!" Hyosuke cheered on.

She then swings her scoop towards where the goldfish was heading.

The goldfish then jumps out of the water, hoping to avoid its capture.

_"Just according to my plan."_ She grinned.

The scoop then moves away from the water, and the rim then touches the goldfish's body, guiding it towards elsewhere.

Into the bowl.

A splash was heard.

The 5-inch Shubunkin was now swimming in Akane's bowl.

The crowd around her began to cheer at her success.

"Congrats lady!" Gentarou cheered as he put the jumbo goldfish into a jar with a burlap cord around the gridded lid.

"That's the power of love from my Hyosuke-kun!" Akane then pecks her lips on his cheek, turning him cheery-red out of embarrassment.

The small crowd laughs and waves as the two walk off elsewhere.

On the way, they see Mori and Yosuke eating shaved ice, both green tea-flavored.

"I assume the two of you are the source of that uproar over there?" Mori pointed out with a sly grin.

"You really don't have to put it like that, Mori." Hyosuke replied. "So, the two of you having fun?"

"Met Nami on the way." Yosuke answered. "And somehow, we got there before Benson."

"Thank god, otherwise, I would hate to see him have a brain freeze." Mori remarked.

Hyosuke then remembers the time where Benson went to an eating contest where they had to eat a _gargantuan_ serving of fruity-tooty-flavored ice cream at the time when the circus came to town.

The contest was never held ever again, even went far as _California's Governor_ to shut it down _officially _(although there were rumors of a court case that was being drafted to rebuke that decision).

"... Yeah, I'd hate to see that too." Hyosuke remarked as his eyes shifted towards the side.

Then the four hear the crowd's voices building up somewhere else.

Mori then sniffs the air.

"... What is it?" Yosuke asked.

Mori drops his shaved ice.

"... Smoking unagi and steaming rice."

The four then take a mad dash towards the crowd, breaking through the buildup to take a closer look.

"AND WE HAVE A WINNER!" A loud and shrill voice cried out in a jubilant tone.

_"Oh no."_ The four thought.

Much to their horror, the four see Benson and his hand raised up into the air in triumph, his feet surrounded by collapsed people and bowls of half-eaten unagi don, with only two others laid dead still on their tables.

One was a surprisingly slim-looking Japanese girl in a dark-pink yukata with her hair pinned up behind her back, with her table surrounded by towers of picked-clean bowls of rice and eel.

The other was a topless youth wearing nothing put a pair of pants with animal fur wrapped around his waist, with a mask that was a literal boar's head, his laid head _also_ surrounded by spires of empty bowls, but not as high as the girl's, and definitely not as high as_ Benson's_.

Simply put, a _massacre_ of human and eel alike took place, with Benson as the carnage's sole survivor.

Hyosuke clears his throat.

"... Whatever you do, do not tell Sigrun about this-"

**"'Do not tell Sigrun" what,_ ja_?"**

The four turn around to find the blonde girl in her black yukata, and her equally-dark presence, along with her cello travel case in her right hand, now looking like a _weapon_.

"... Please don't kill us." Hyosuke peeped.

**"Then make it look genuine."** She threatened in the voice of _Enma_ while smiling like the_ Buddha_.

The four grovel to her feet_ instantly_.

**"PLEASE DON'T KILL US! HAVE MERCY, EDELGARD-SAMA!" **The four begged in unison.

The dark presence around her then fades like the summer wind.

"... Apology accepted."

She then walks away like nothing has ever happened.

Then the four then hear Benson yiping in pain while Sigrun drags him out of the ring.

"Should we head elsewhere?" Yosuke suggested. "Because I think Sigrun and Benson are rather... _occupied_ right now."

The four then hear the high-pitched sounds of screaming coming from Benson.

The four look at each other and nod in unison.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

The three then leave Yosuke behind as a witness to Sigrun's unholy wrath upon Benson.

Hyosuke, Akane, and Mori then head back to where the stalls were, spot a stall where Nami was working at.

"Hey Nami." Hyosuke called out.

The three then see a golden-haired boy with a golden haori _stumbling_ by with swollen cheeks.

"... Who's the kid?" Hyosuke asked.

"Some brat named _Agatsuma Zenitsu_." Nami sighed out. "He was holding up the line due to him flirting with one of the girls at my shop working here, so I gave him a piece of my mind right before he tried to flirt with me, and at that point, I gave him another to his other cheek and punted a block of ice right towards his crotch."

"All because of line congestion..." Akane remarked. "... And I thought _Sigrun_ was terrifying."

"Speaking of which, how are they doing I wonder..." Mori remarked.

He then turns around, only to find Sigrun carrying the two other males over her shoulders, both faces riddled with bumps and bruises.

"... You two okay?" Hyosuke asked while paying for six bowls of shaved ice.

Both Benson and Yosuke give him a thumbs-up.

"Here." Hyosuke then hands the two of them a strawberry-flavored bowl and a green tea-flavored bowl respectively.

The two are let down, take their shaved ice, and head towards the nearest bench and start eating their bowls to alleviate their mutual pain, where they also happen to be sitting next to the same gold-haired boy who currently has the case of blue balls.

The other five then see the three of them bond over their pain.

"... Well at least the three of them are making memories." Hyosuke remarked as he took a bite of his plum-flavored shaved ice.

"Hey Hyosuke-kun!" Akane called out while carrying her bowl of mandarin-flavored shaved ice. "Let's go to the main shrine!"

The two then head towards the main shrine, while Mori and Sigrun head towards the shooting game alley, right before she herself makes a bet with a rugged youth with mostly-shaven hair and a massive scar running across his face, with Mori socializing with a girl with a butterfly hairpin while the accompanying the former two.

The crowd concentration around the main shrine was expectedly dense.

The two hold onto each other's hands in order not to get seperated amidst the bustling crowd.

The two then bump into a boy with green and black-checkered haori with hanafuda earrings and a girl in a pink yukata with cherry blossom patterns on it and a pink ribbon tied on her hair in front of the two engaged couple.

"Oh sorry!" Hyosuke and the boy both apologized in unison, resulting the two of them hitting each other in the heads.

Hyosuke kneels in pain while clutching his head.

_"What's that kid's head made of? Titanium!?"_ He screamed internally.

"I'M SO SORRY!" The boy apologized while the girl next to him petted his head.

"No no no..." Hyosuke winced out. "... It's my fault that I didn't see where I was going."

"NO! I INSIST!" The boy screamed out while reaching into his pocket and taking out his coin purse. "I KNOW THIS ISN'T MUCH, BUT PLEASE TAKE IT AS COMPENSATION!"

Hyosuke tries to protest, but Akane whispers_ this_ into his ear.

"The boy's not gonna let up." Akane whispered. "Just take it."

Hyosuke then takes the 500 yen that the boy offered.

"NOW WE'RE EVEN!" The boy insisted.

"Look, look, kid." Hyosuke went on. "Just tell me your name and let's bygones be bygones, alright?"

"YES-"

The young man then gags his mouth with his hand.

"First." Hyosuke spoke out. "Calm the hell down. Take a few breaths in."

The boy then breathes in and out before calming down.

"... Right." The boy calmed down. "My name is Kamado Tanjiro! And this my sister, Nezuko!"

The girl smiles and waves at the two.

"Well, name's Hakanai Hyosuke, and this fine lady is Saga Akane, my betrothed." Hyosuke stated."Well, hope the two you have fun today."

"You two as well!" Tanjiro and Nezuko waved as the two got further from each other.

"Nice kids." Akane remarked.

"Think so?" Hyosuke then flips the 500 yen that Tanjiro gave him. "What? A few guys at the Jazz Club taught me how to do coin flips."

Akane chuckles as the two further into the crowd.

A ping sound was heard on the ground.

A boy find the source of the sound on the ground. He then kneels over.

To find the 500-yen coin _without_ its grooved edges.

The two finally reach the main shrine at the Asakusa Temple.

"Well, how's the view, milady?" Hyosuke asked as he raised Akane over his shoulders.

She then leans down forward, and pecks her lips at Hyosuke's forehead.

"I'm glad, Akane."

The young man with his fiance's legs around his shoulders heads towards the center of the temple.

"Papa! Papa!" A little girl's voice called out. "Pick me up! Pick me up!"

A_ smooth_ and _suave_ male voice chuckles for a bit.

"Alright, little miss. Papa will give you an upsy-daisy."

"Yay!"

The girl is then picked up from her waist and boosted into the air.

"Hmm?" Hyosuke noticed that Akane's began to tense around his shoulders. "Akane, what's wrong-"

Hyosuke then looks towards where Akane was looking at and spots a pair of blood orange-eyes with _slitted pupils_.

The same eyes then meet Hyosuke's blood red-colored eyes, the pupils slowly turning snake-like.

_"Go ahead, Kibutsuji Muzan."_ Hyosuke thought. _"Let's play a game of chicken."_

_"Go ahead, worm."_ Muzan thought. _"Let's see who's dumb enough to start a fire here."_

"Dear?" Muzan's "wife" called out. "Is something the matter?"

Muzan's then puts his facade back on. "Oh, nothing dear. Just the heat making me a bit uncomfortable."

"Oh honey..." The woman sighed as Muzan handed his "daughter" over to his "wife". "This is why I told you to wear a yukata..."

Muzan chuckles lightly. "I'll try to abide next time."

Hyosuke then then lets Akane down from his shoulders.

"Now what, Hyosuke-kun?" Akane whispered.

"We wait." He stated. "Whoever draws first bead, loses."

The two then move along with the crowd as both Hyosuke and Muzan occasionally glare at each other to keep each other in check.

While the people around them were too preoccupied with their own merriment, even then, the mundane people began to take notice of the air around them began to grow cold and heavy.

"... Honey?" Muzan's "wife" said in a trembling tone. "Is something the matter?"

Muzan's composure was on the brink of _snapping_.

The mere sight of Hyosuke was sickening to his overbloated sense of self-aggrandization, as if his mere presence was _significant enough_ to make this _certain_ matter _personal_.

Confrontation was now _inevitable_.

Hyosuke then nudges Akane behind himself.

Akane places her hands on his shoulder, and gives him a firm nod.

"Kiss for luck?" Hyosuke asked.

Akane the gives him a kiss to his lips.

Hyosuke nods and begins to walk towards _Muzan's_ direction.

The two now meet, with Hyosuke having both of his hands inside his sleeves of his yukata, and Muzan, even on the verge of going berserk, kept his posture straight and unflinching, as his gentlemen-like facade that he was desperately upholding to keep himself higher above all other demons.

The were now glaring at each other, both pairs of eyes cold as a mid-winter blizzard in Hokkaido, and bloodthirsty as Muramasa's cursed katana.

The girl in her mother's arms, was so terrified at the two, that neither could even make a noise.

Is as if a single, loose flower petal landed between the two, a volcano would sprout out and set the entire city of Tokyo ablaze in an instant.

Veins then begin to pop from both of their skins underneath their clothes.

Then the tension between the two are then interrupted by a drunken man stumbling onto Muzan and drooling on his suit.

Hyosuke then does the Catholic's sign of the cross, praying that the unfortunate man dies _painlessly_.

In rage, Muzan cleaves his open hand through the drunkard's neck, decapitating him in an instant, the severed head landing in front of Hyosuke's feet.

Several screams then fill the air, but the two staring down at each other were uninterrupted.

"So..." Hyosuke called out at the enraged Muzan. "... How long has it been since you got my ass involved in your little eugenics experiment, _Mu-chan_?"

**"Ungrateful bastard."** Muzan snarled out. "**A peasant like you should've been honored to be a subscriber of my generosity."**

"Piss off, asshole." Hyosuke bit back while crossing his arms in his sleeves. "I gave you my blood and skin after my _123rd_ year of my life under your thumb, you took my sunlight adaptation from me and left me for dead, and I only survived just by swimming all the way to China before my whole body turned into ash. And by the way, you still owe me for that crap you pulled back then."

**"I owe you nothing, worm."** Muzan snarled back.

The beheaded man then stands back up, picks up his head, and attacks Muzan's "wife" and "daughter" along with everyone else in the crowd.

Quickly, the whole crowd devolves into chaos, as demons began appearing left and right due to Muzan's crude demon cells attracting other demons via phramone, with some humans turning into demons from the overwhelming malignant energy coming from Muzan's residue blood.

** "I don't need to dirty my hands to end you, _Hyakkimaru_."**

"... Aw dammit, you had to go and say my _real name_." Hyosuke/Hyakkimaru moaned.

He then takes something out of his sleeves and tosses it onto the ground.

**"[Blood Art: Measurement (測定)]."**

The little object on the ground then turns_ big_, revealing itself as a demon, but hands, feet, and maw all bound together by a single metal ring with grooved edges.

**"So Mu-chan..."** Hyakkimaru stated in a venomous tone while placing his foot onto the bound demon's head.** "... I take it that you consider_ that_ a declaration of war?"**

Muzan takes off his fedora, revealing his vein-riddled eyes and cheekbones.

**"I will paint this city red with your blood."** Muzan snarled out.

**"And I shall share your ripped flesh and bone with my friends over a fire pit."** Hyakkimaru casually shot back with a smile.

The demon's head pops like a water balloon underneath Hyakkimaru's foot.

**"And speaking of which..."**

Akane then slowly walk towards the two, now her face riddled with veins, and trailing behind an array of demons that have their bodies turned _inside-out_, still alive and squirming, but now begging for death.

A stray demon rushes towards her, but Akane then materializes a giant_ goldfish scoop_ from her own blood, and swings the paper net towards the demon.

**"[Blood Art: Inverse (****逆****)]."**

The paper sheet on the scoop phases through the demon.

But suddenly, the demon, who was standing upwards, was now flipped onto his head, and upon his head pointing towards the ground, Akane stakes the now-upside-down demon into ground with the shaft of her giant goldfish scoop's shaft like if it's hammering down a nail.

Only its pair of legs were shown sprouting out of the ground.

**"You dare teach _your_ demons [Blood Arts]!?"** Muzan snarled out while dodging a jab from Hyakkimaru. **"And to a damn _foreigner_, out of all _things_!?"**

**"Okay, first of all..."** Hyakkimaru replied dryly after he catches Muzan's fist in his palm, sending a shockwave that sends everyone behind him flying. **"... Her name is _Júhuā_, and last time I checked, you don't seem to care that she's not a thing, so I won't dignify your racist statement."**

Muzan then thrusts his sharpened fingernails towards Hyakkimaru, only for him to bite down onto his fingers before rolling back and kicking him off of him.

**"And second..."** Hyakkimaru went on as he took out another metal ring made from a loose _American_ penny.** "... If you think she's the _only_ demon under_ my_ tutelage, then you're dead wrong."**

Hyakkimaru tilts his head to his right, with a bullet flying across his cheek.

Muzan flicks the bullet back towards Hyakkimaru, only for him to catch the projectile with his teeth.

Behind Hyakkimaru was Sigrun, now revealing herself as a demon, and in her stretched out hand was an empty rifle shell.

In her other hand was her cello travel case, which she then throws down the trunk to the ground, kicks the lid open, and pulls out a _crank-rotated-Gatling Gun_.

The rest of the cello case were filled with nothing than an abnormally-long ammo belt connecting to her crank-cannon, with the whole cello case now attached to her back.

The six-barreled instrument of death was now pointed towards Muzan's general area of standing, and upon seeing the gleam of the brass, Hyakkimaru and Júhuā _book it_.

**"[Blood Art: Combustion (燃焼)]."**

The barrel begins to turn, and the hailstorm of 7.68mm rounds barrel towards Muzan at_ four times_ of a normal speed of a regular ignited bullet.

Sigrun's blood art allows her blood to set _anything_ on fire upon activation, which she uses for her guns so that the ignition is more potent upon firing, and recoil doesn't matter since she herself was a demon.

Not to mention, she used that ability to _weld_ her cello case/ammo box onto the back of her neck, by the heat destroying the cells and letting the damaged flesh regenerate_ around_ the box.

But even with all of that power, Muzan was dodging all of the bullets while he himself was running after Hyakkimaru to settle his grudge against him.

**"SIGRUN!"** Júhuā cried out over the repeat gunfire. **"TAKE CARE OF MUZAN'S DEMONS HEADING TOWARDS THE FOOD STALLS! I'LL TRY TO FIND THE OTHERS!"**

The blonde demon nods as she then points her gun towards the demons wrecking havoc-

_"DIE YOU DAMN DEMONS!"_

* * *

_**Just Nearby...**_

* * *

A youth with the scar running across his face was seen hacking away at the demons in the festival with katana in one hand and a double-barreled shotgun with a sawed-off smoothbore in the other.

"Huh, so he and I are both appricaters of the firearms..." Sigrun remarked to herself as she then sees the girl with the butterfly hairpin dancing across the horde of demons with her purple-bladed katana. "Hey... that's the same girl that Mori was talking to before this happened..."

Behind her, Mori, now in his demon form, shows up hiding behind her cello case.

**"... Can you make sure that I don't run into _her_?"** Mori asked Sigrun while pointing towards the girl fighting alongside with the scarface youth. **"When the demons started showing up, she immediately carved them all up like ice and I was dancing around her little rondo of death!"**

**"Shove off."** Sigrun grumbled right before she starts spraying bullets towards the horde. **"HEY SCARFACE! TELL THAT GIRLFRIEND OF YOURS TO LAY OFF ON MY FRIEND MORI!"**

"SINCE WHEN DID A DEMON LEARN HOW TO USE A FUCKING MAXIM GUN!?" The scarred youth yelled back after gagging a demon's mouth with his gun before blowing its head off. "AND MY NAME'S NOT SCARFACE! IT'S SHINAZUGAWA GENYA AND LAST TIME I CHECKED, SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" He yelled out as he simptanously slashed a demon while reloading his break-action shotgun.

Sigrun and Mori then see Genya take a bite out of a demon's arm as if it was edible.

A _human_, eating a demon.

**"HEY ASSHOLE!"** Sigrun yelled back.** "SAVE SOME DEMONS FOR US, WOULD YA!?"** She cried out as she primes for her next volley.

"HEY! FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE! SO GET YOUR OWN!" Genya yelled back while kicking a demon's chin.

Behind Sigrun, Mori takes a breathe in, and calms and resolves himself.

**"I'LL HELP!"** Mori then takes out several paper tags and begins to write **[敏捷性]** (Great Agility) and **[****幸運****]** (Great Fortitude) on them with his own blood.

**"HERE!"**

The two tags land on their foreheads, with **[敏捷性]** landing on the girl's while** [****幸運****]** lands on Genya's.

The two then begin to feel Mori's power coursing through them, with the girl's movements becoming faster, and Genya's skin and flesh now becoming dense enough to bludgeon demons as if his whole body was a suit of armor.

**"My [Blood Art: Luck Writer (運作家)], allows me to relinquish some of my power temporary to other people by using my blood and paper tags as mediums!"** Mori stated while he writes **[大集中]** (Great Concentration) onto another tag right before placing it onto Sigrun's forehead.

Now her erratic bullets no longer miss, with each bullet fired from her Gatling Gun hitting each demon right on the mark.

"HEY!" Genya barked out. "THAT'S MY KILL, YOU BITCH!"

**"HEY! FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE! SO GET YOUR OWN!" **She shot back the ironic echo.

Eventually, the demons around the stalls were gradually being suppressed, and eventually the stalls were now cleared.

Mori then approaches the girl with the butterfly hairpin with trembling hands and legs.

**"... I take it you're _not_ going to kill me?"** Mori sheepishly smiled.

She smiles.

"We're rather familiar with a _certain_ demon just like you two." She stated. "So... Murasaki-san?"

**"Y-Yes!?"** The demon gulped.

"Please don't be so tense." The girl spoke towards the nervous demon. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tsuyuri Kanao. Pleasure to finally greet you, Murasaki-san."

**"P-Please..."** Mori stuttered. **"C-Call me Mori-"**

Mori then faints from sheer exhaustion, and the tags on the three of their head crumble off into dust.

[Luck Writer], powerful as it is, was extremely taxing, even for a demon, and especially for a demon like Mori, who's physique was best described as "scrawny".

So is best if its used sparingly, but Mori's mind tends to get too erratic to process that, especially during the heat of mass-brawls (one-on-one, Mori's "above average")

**"... Well you two, good luck."** Sigrun then packs her Gatling Gun back into her cello case and slings Mori over her shoulder before leaving.

"Yeah, just watch yourself, ya hear?" Genya spoke out with a slight grimace.

The two Demon Slayers then head off towards other areas where the demons were still running about.

And with no one else looking, Sigrun and Mori then began to feast on the half-alive demons splayed all over the stall grounds.

* * *

**_Around the Front Gates..._**

* * *

Around the temple gates, the boar-masked youth brandishing two serrated katanas and Zenitsu were fending off a dozen lesser demons, which, while lacking in power individually, they were slowly being worn down.

"Inosuke, if you're going to crap out your dinner, then do it when no one's looking!" The golden-haired youth cried out in a slightly panicked tone.

Inosuke was on the verge of shitting out his extra dinner, as his movements were sluggish from all the unagi don that he packed in about an hour prior.

Even though his body count was _triple value_ of Zenitsu's.

"There's no end to them..." Zenitsu grimaced.

Fast and lethal as his blades were, his [Lightning Breathing] wasn't designed for _overly-drawn-out_ combat.

After all, the Lightning Breathing Techniques all emphasized on speed and the ability to end battles in one stroke, or multiple strikes that were each meant to kill, so the idea of pulling all seven (formerly six) stances in rapid succession, while possible, was rather ill-advised, and to drive that point home, Zenitsu, after a _full hour_ of spamming his [Lightning Breathing: First Form-Thunderclap (Godspeed)] like if it was going out of style, Zenitsu, as of now, was on the verge of _nausea_.

As for Inosuke, comparatively, he's practically carrying the two, since his [Beast Breathing] Techniques had no crippling in-combat drawbacks (sole drawback is that said techniques were tailor-made _only_ for Inosuke), but compared to his usual performance?

... He really shouldn't have entered that eating contest, for the overindulgence on carbs and fat, his borderline-_eldritch_ metabolism, was simply put, no match for of approximately_ 47 large bowls_ of unagi don (said "Large-sized" bowls are the size of regular-sized_ ramen bowls_).

So to summarize, one was already fighting at low-performance, while the other was a quick-burner (it's only been around a few months he defeated Kaigaku, so stamina development was still green in his list of priorities), both surrounded by an endless horde encroaching them.

"DAMMIT!" Inosuke howled out in frustration. "WHY IS THE FOOD STRONGER THAN ME!?" He again howls out as he rips apart another demon with his dual sawteeth-katanas.

His stomach then begins to grumble.

"OH GOD, WHY DIDN'T I TRAIN HARDER FOR THIS KIND OF CRAP!?" Zenitsu panicked, sort of relapsing back to his old self, but more out of self-aware regret then basic cowardice.

"DAMMIT!"

Both Inosuke and Zenitsu's movements began to go more desperate as the two try to break out of the encirclement.

Then a pack of ten demons attack the two from behind.

Both were too fatigued to move fast enough.

Death was now imminent.

_**"[Blood Art: Puppet King (人形王)]."**_

Then two bodies began to move on their own.

Both Demon Slayers were now revitalized, their fatigue and aches now gone.

**"NOW DO IT, YOU FUCKS!"** A voice called out.

The two don't ask as just unleash their strongest techniques.

**"[Lightning Breathing: Seventh Form-Flaming God of Thunder (Six-Fold)]!"**

The golden-haired boy disappears before reappearing at the sound of his blade resheathing.

Behind him, the demon rabble get _atomized_ into dust.

"MY OUT-OF-NOWHERE IMPROV TECHNIQUE'S FIRST AND PROBABLY-LAST DEBUT!" Inosuke loudly declared. **"[Beast Breathing: Origin Fang-Wild Hunt (Pig Assault)]!"**

**[獣の呼吸：起源の牙、野生の狩り（イノシシの暴行）]**

And for the next five seconds, Inosuke has now penned the term _"going boarshit-crazy"_ into the dictionary known as the _"collective unconsciousness"_.

In less then a second, the whole rabble is dispersed into a bloody mist.

**_"Annnnnd, release." _**The voice then snaps its finger.

The sudden spike of adrenaline from the two is suddenly turns into crippling fatigue, and Zenitsu falls to his hands and knees begins to regurgitate on the stone floor, while Inosuke runs off elsewhere, out of sight.

"Young man." A female voice called out.

Zenitsu then looks up, and finds the same lady who worked at the shaved ice stand, but her pupils glistening red, and veins bulging out of her cheekbones.

Urashika Nami was a _demon_.

"... Oh shit, not now-"

**"[Blood Art: Confectionary Sculpting (菓子彫刻)]."**

Nami cuts her wrists and blood begins to pool into her palm and slowly transform into a ruby-colored konpeitō.

**"Here."** Nami told the gagging boy. **"Eat this, it'll help you calm your stomach."**

Zenitsu doesn't question her, since she reminded him of Nezuko.

The candy melts on his tongue, with the melted blood soothing his uneasy stomach and refreshing his cognitive clarity.

"Who are you?" Zenitsu asked while rubbing his eyes.

Two more figures then appear behind her, both demons, with one being black-skinned.

**"Just your friendly neighborhood demons from the other side of the world."** The black-skinned demon stated jovially. **"Name's Benson, the lady's Nami, and this gentleman is Yosuke."**

**"Stay here and resy up, okay?"** Yosuke added.

Threads of blood then come out from his fingertips as they go into the ground beneath his feet.

Yosuke balls his hands into a fist, pulling something out of the ground with his [Blood-Art].

A perfectly-carved out and articulated stone samurai wielding a earthly naginata and a bow.

**"Hey don't leave me hanging!"** Benson stated.

Then his muscles rip through his clothes, his arms now looking like bundled-up cannonballs.

**"Now then..."** Benson grinned at the demons reinforcements heading towards them.

His hand then transforms into a ball with a set of teeth that was then separated from his wrist.

**"Now y'all wanna look away..."** Benson said while his whole body was slowly breaking down into more balls. **"... Unless y'all wanna swim with piranhas."**

In place of Benson, a mass of bouncing balls with toothy mouths then swarms the oncoming horde.

**"[Blood Art: Feeding Frenzy (狂乱)]!"**

Numerous sounds of bones crunching and flesh tearing was heard from the mosh pit, while Yosuke's stone samurai was shooting its arrows at the demons.

The mouthed balls then bounce back together, reforming back into Benson in his humanoid form.

**"Woo!"** Benson cheered. **"Haven't done that shit since Civil War back in 1863!"**

He then recalls that moment where he devoured an entire infantry platoon camping out at the Everglades in Florida.

**"Bastards had it comin'..."** He joyfully mused as Yosuke's stone samurai puppet finished off the last demon with the swipe of its naginata right before Yosuke devours the demon.

"ALRIGHT! I'M BACK AND READY TO KICK SOME ASS-WHERE THE FUCK DID THEY GO!?"

Out of nowhere, Inosuke shows up to find three demons that he can tell that are like Nezuko (he just can instinctively), with one whose skin was black, the other was controlling a stone samurai puppet from the blood threads coming from his fingertips, and a female demon feeding Zenitsu candy made of her own solidified blood.

The stone samurai crumbles as Yosuke recalls his blood threads.

**"Hey there."** Yosuke waved towards Inosuke. **"You feeling better?"**

"SO YOU'RE THE ONE WHO MADE ME POOP!" The boar-masked youth accused.

**"Well... it's either that, or out the other way."** Yosuke retorted. **"Believe me, I'm speaking from personal experience, the latter chute is not the fun way out."**

He then recalls those times when as a demon, he took Hyakkimaru's dare of chugging down an entire barrel of sake.

The exact same barrel of sake made to (allegedly) have _anti-demon properties_.

It was a _miracle_ that Yosuke_ just_ regurgitated (and the fact that the barrel itself was partially leaking, so its holy properties were completely nixed).

**"Here."** Nami then offers Inosuke a velvet-red castella-cake, _also_ made from her own blood. **"This should sate your appetite while not making feel like you've swallowed an entire bag of raw lead."**

"NO MERE CAKE CAN SATE MY HUNGER!" Inosuke screeched at her face. "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE MY APPETITE FOR FOOD AND COMBAT!"

The Demon Slayer then snatches the cake and shoves it under his boar mask.

After snacking the cake in less then a second, Inosuke drops his swords and falls to his knees.

"Why..." Inosuke asked.

Zenitsu then looks at the kneeling (and suddenly_ calm_, which is disturbing enough as is) Demon Slayer.

"WHY AM I _FULL_!?" Inosuke howled to the heavens.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT!?" Zenitsu pointed out.

* * *

_**At the Main Shrine...**_

* * *

At the now-ruined heart of Asakusa Temple, Hyakkimaru and Muzan weren't letting up at each other.

Both were exchanging blows and swipes at each other relentlessly.

**"Eat this!"** Hyakkimaru throws the hollowed-out penny towards Muzan's face.

The bronze-colored ring then enlarges around the First Demon's face.

**"Too slow."**

Muzan jumps through the hoop, but the hoop shrinks around his right ankle.

The ring continues dig into his ankle as the hollowed-out penny shrinks back to its original size.

**"Dammit."** Hyakkimaru cursed while picking through his sleeves for more things. **"At least let the coin latch around your face. At least that way, it's easier to pull it out."**

Muzan's ankle is now sawed down to his marrow. But however, Muzan's regenerates his flesh around his ankle in an instant.

**"How dare you scar me again, you filthy peasant."** Muzan snarled out.** "Not even death will be enough to atone for your sins."**

**"Eh, sin is sin."** Hyakkimaru dryly replied while pulling out a chakram before spinning the blade ring around his index finger. **"You're pretty much call the kettle black at this point, which by the way, I might be sugarcoating your whole superiority complex."**

The demon then hurls the chakram towards Muzan's neck.

**"[Blood Art: Measurement, Increase]!"**

The blade ring then suddenly grows ten times its original size,

Muzan tries to kick it away, but the penny ring inside of his bone marrow bursts out from his ankle, throwing off his balance, and his face meeting the giant blade.

The Chakram then cleaves a wedge of flesh and bone off of his head, along with his _60k-yen fedora_.

Muzan instantly regenerates his head, takes off his ruined hat, crushes it in his hands, and looks back at Hyakkimaru with eyes now redder that would make the richest of blood flowing through the most harty of hearts look placid in comparison.

**"Out of all thing I've done, _you_ are my sole mistake."** Muzan growled. **"The very proof that impedes my claim towards the status as the embodiment of perfection, the very stain on my pride that refuses to be wiped off, and my greatest insult that I've ever spawned onto this imperfect world, as my... _responsibility_."**

That last word relating to the idea of _humility_ was the most pain inflicted upon Muzan in this very battle.

**"... Prepare to suffer ten-thousandfold, you _mistake_."**

His muscles and veins explode through his bloodstained _150k-yen_ designer-suit, his eyes blazing with wrath that makes the depths of _Jigoku_ look freezing.

**"... Took the words right out of my mouth, _Mu-chan_."**

The two demons speed towards each other like starved wolves fighting over a fresh kill.

Flurries of blows, each punch and kick packing the kinetic force of a _typhoon_, each blow coming at speed of a _thunderstrike_, and each impact resonating with a tempo of an _earthquake_.

In the face of Tanjiro and Nezuko, hiding behind one of the pillars around the main shrine, were no longer witnessing demons in combat.

The two were witnessing a clash between two physical _gods _of a forgotten lore.

_"I've only seen the Upper Moon Six and their powers, but even then compared to what I've seen little of Muzan to now, the sheer magnitude of power being put out..."_

Tnajiro vomits, as if he's choking out a boiling teapot from his throat.

The sounds of his vomiting was completely ignored, much to his and Nezuko's relief.

_"But even then..."_ Tanjiro thought while wiping his mouth. _"... This might be the only chance that I have to turn Nezuko back into human again!"_

"Whatever you're thinking, don't."

Tanjiro turns around, and sees a young man with a drawn katana and a recently-bloodstained haori.

"Tomioka-taichou?" Tanjiro whisper out.

Tomioka Giyuu nods.

"I know it's tempting to just go in and slay the both of them at the same time and use Muzan's blood to cure your sister's condition." Giyuu stated. "But you're also aware that if you so much as enter their range, the sheer force exuded from those two will rip your body apart like wet paper, correct?"

Tanjiro reluctantly nods.

The two watch out behind the pillars before ducking back into their cover.

"So what do we do now?" Tanjiro urgently asked Giyuu.

"Well, for the most part, the demons within Asakusa temple have been dealt with, and unaffected civilians are safety evacuated, so by all means, our job is technically done..."

Giyuu's eyes then briefly shift towards the two demons clashing with each other.

"... But if we leave those two unattended, then by technicality, our job is not done." Giyuu surmised.

Tanjiro doesn't question Giyuu's words, but instead steadies his grip around his blade's handle.

"Whenever you're ready, Tomioka-taichou." Tanjiro nodded.

"On my mark." Giyuu steadily draws his blade. "... Now-TANJIRO, GET DOWN!"

Giyuu tackles both Tanjiro and Nezuko down to the ground, nearly avoiding a demon breaking through the pillar behind the two siblings.

"... It came too fast for me to pick up its scent." Tanjiro heaved. "Moresoever, this scent?"

The smell of blood and his family's old mountain cottage.

The dust settles, revealing Kibutsuji Muzan in all of his infernal glory.

The demon spots Tanjiro's hanafuda earrings.

**"Well now..."** Muzan slowly stood back up. **"I won't complain about killing two birds with one stone."**

The two [Water Breathing] practitioners don't even _question_ what to do next.

Tanjiro and Giyuu both quick-draw their swords simultaneously towards Muzan.

**"[Water Breathing: Seventh Form-Piercing Raindrop]-"**

**"[Sun Breathing: Ninth Form-Shining Sun Stab]-"**

Before their quickest technique could make contact with the first demon, their heads are hit by something.

On top of their heads were both of Hyakkimaru's sandaled feet, using their heads as springboards, and headbutts directly into Muzan's nose, sending the two demons crashing through the temple's walls, hitting the bronze bell suspended at the chamber's center.

A single *gong* resolates throughout the dusk skies above Asakusa Temple.

_"... Why didn't I pick up the other demon's scent?"_ Tanjiro thought. _"Is it because the two are so similar in power and natural malignance that my senses now have the two confused?"_

"Tanjiro." Giyuu called for his attention.

"Yes?" Tanjiro responded.

"... No sudden movements, and that goes for your sister as well."

Both Tanjiro and Nezuko slightly nod as the three slowly maneuver their way towards the central shrine's entrance.

At the shrine's interior, the two demons now stare down at each other.

**"You still refuse to submit..."** Muzan snarled. **"For the last _1,092_ years, all you've ever done was nothing but cause me grief by your mere absence in my sentence."**

**"Like I said, Mu-chan."** Hyakkimaru casually replied.** "You really shouldn't have used me for your little eugenics experiment for your sunlight immunity, which, you've accomplished by only half-transforming me into a literal half-demon, all to see me go through unimaginable pain and suffering as my human half and demon half were holding onto their dear lives, right before flaying my whole body and drinking my blood after 123 years of torture, which by then, I lost all semblance of respect towards you, which afterwards you then toss me into the ocean for dead, in which, looking at your whole so-called plight in hindsight, is all _your_ fault that you shot yourself in the foot in the first place."**

**"You were a mere peasant." **Muzan growled.** "You should've been grateful that the likes of me even bother to spare my attention, let alone, take you in after I salvaged you from that wrecked village."**

**"A spoiled lordling taking in a farm rat as his personal manservant."** Hyakkimaru pointed out Muzan's fallacy in his logic.** "I'm not going to dignify little act of 'kindness' when I've done much more for myself and others."**

**"Are you referring to those dirty foreigners that you've packed along?" **Muzan spat back. **"You dare extend my gifts to mere outsiders!?"**

**"****Júhuā took me in after I washed up ashore after my eplozed muscles were riddled with salt and sharks alike, putting me unimaginable pain for several years straight, as if I never left that damn rock you tied me to, unable to die, whether under sunlight or the blue grave that you've buried me."** Hyakkimaru retorted.** "She was a sickly girl, yet she chose to attend to my matters over hers, so when bandits rampaged across the coast, I slaughtered them all with my newfound resolve, but one managed to get though, and... that sonofabitch defiled her."**

Hyakkimaru's continued to speak, to the point where he grasped around Muzan's arm impaled through his stomach to hold him in place.

**"Of course, I ate him alive, but upon that threshold, I had received a revelation."**

**"What 'revelation'?"** Muzan hissed out.** "You think a demon other than _me_ can reach true enlightenment?"**

**"Comparing the flesh you kept force-feeding me to those bandits, it turns out that eating evil people tastes better then eating the countless innocents that you've fed to me."** Hyakkimaru reaffirmed.** "And at that point, I've found my purpose."**

Hyakkimaru then raises his head up, and glares into Muzan's crimson eyes.

**"My purpose in life..."** Hyakkimaru declared.** "... Is to hunt down those who hurt the innocent at their own discretion, to protect the ones who wish to be kind to everyone else around them, and become the guardian that will keep the shadows of evil at bay. And through that resolve, I've overcome my half-demon instincts and evolved beyond **_you_**."**

More veins burst out of Muzan's forehead.

**"SILENCE, YOU DAMNED CUR!" **Muzan roared out as he swung his left hand towards Hyakkimaru's head.

Hyakkimaru blocks the blow with his right hand as his grip around his left hand became tighter.

**"Never."** Hyakkimaru retorted.** "For I am not afraid of you anymore."**

**"Year 825, ****Júhuā joined me on my journey out of my kindness. Year 1096, I saved Sigrun after she was raped to near-death during the Rhineland Massacres by the so-called 'people's crusaders'. Year 1498, I raided a slave trade vessel and found Benson as a corpse. Year 1560, Mori, Nami, and Yosuke were dying of starvation after their village was burnt to the ground. All those actions? That's true kindness." **Hyakkimaru spat back.

**"So you made some friends. Like that matters."** Muzan leered. **"Because in the end? They're powerless before me."**

Muzan then tries to overwrite Hyakkimaru's will with his [Blood Art].

**"... Are you trying to take control of me?"** Hyakkimaru asked in an amused tone.

**"Why..."** Muzan muttered in disbelief. **"WHY AREN'T YOU SUBMITTING!?"**

**"Have you heard of a practice called _mithridatism_?"** Hyakkimaru asked.

**"What did you do!?"** Muzan barked out.

**"For a century straight, me and Júhuā have been slowly eating loose Chinese wisteria pedals, slowly cleansing out your influence in my soul, and by that point, we've slowly immunized myself to sunlight and anything else would harm a demon."** Hyakkimaru boasted. **"Hell, my developed immunities along with my initial status as a mere half-demon have been fully integrated into my biology, and just like you, I can turn people into demons, and pass my immunities onto other people."**

**"... Then I must reaffirm my previous statement of you."** Muzan glowered.** "You're the sole obstacle towards my perfection."**

**"Perfection this, perfection that..."** Hyakkimaru pointed out.** "... I'm starting to pity you."**

**"... YOU DARE PITY ME!?"** Muzan roared out.** "ME!? PERFECTION INCARNATE!?"**

The two demons headbutt each other.

**"Look, Mu-chan."** Hyakkimaru started.** "You got immortality, power, prestige, and other things that I would kill for, and yet the deeper I look into you, the more I realize..."**

Muzan pierces his right arm through Hyakkimaru's face.

**"... You're not happy, aren't you?"**

**"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU DAMNED PEASANT!"**

Muzan pulls out his arm from Hyakkimaru's face, and begins bludgeoning him to death.

**"WHO CARES IF I'M HAPPY OR NOT!?"** Muzan cried out over the sounds of Hyakkimaru's head being caved in.** "AS LONG AS I ACHIEVE MY DREAMS OF PERFECTION, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! AND ONLY I'M DESTINED FOR SUCH PRIVILEGE! THE OTHERS ARE JUST THERE AS MY FODDER FOR MY AMBITIONS, WHERE YOU SHOULD'VE FULFILLED BY ACCEPTING YOUR FATE AS MY EXPERIMENT!"**

Muzan then winds his fist back far as he can, ready to deliver the coup de grâce.

**"DIE!" **

The impact levels the entire shirine surrounding Asakusa Shrine.

Muzan heaves in rage, stressed out from the exterimetes from the past few hours.

**"... And stay dead, you mistake."**

_Something_ grabs onto Muzan's wrist.

The dust clears, revealing that Muzan's finishing blow_ missed_.

**"Hi." **

Hyakkimaru then kicks Muzan off of him, causing the bell to ring once more upon collision.

**"Well... I hope you said your peace."** Hyakkimaru stated as Muzan regenerates his wounds in compensation of being unable to regenerate his dignity. **"So I shall say mine."**

The crumbling ceiling reveals a _crescent moon_ shining above.

**"Your endgoal is to reach perfection, which, by the way, I am not against anyone following their own dreams, but keeling your own sanity and worldview backwards for it?"**

Footsteps were heard nearing towards the central shrine.

**"Point is, Mu-chan."** Hyakkimaru stated. **"... I can also say that you're my sole obstacle towards my dreams of achieving happiness, but if I did that, I would _sink_ to your level of idiotic pride."**

**"I am content living as the world's first half-demon, as your so-called mistake, as a friendly Japanese college exchange student, getting drunk with his new friends in California, as a hidden guardian of the innocents, wiping the presence of evil and bringing peace of mind to those who pray for it, but at the same time, I'm not so content with myself that I would give up on everything and rot to oblivion."**

While running towards the central shrine, one of the runners slowly takes off a ring.

**"I participated in the Third Crusades as a blade for hire, I bled in Sekigahara as one of the many faceless soldiers that stained the whole river crimson red, I fought in the American Civil War with the Union, I even fought during the Russo-Japanese War as a gesture of gratitude for my cradle. The point is, Mu-chan?"**

A giant paper-netted paddle forms our of blood.

**"Your standards of your so-called perfection? It's all junk. Real perfection comes from dirtying yourself with other ideas, people, locations, and the fact of the matter?"**

A silver ring with a small diamond on top is tossed into the air.

**"You really need to go outside more."**

**"HYAKKIMARU!"**

Outside of the ruined shrine, Júhuā swings two giant goldfish scoops towards the ring.

**"[Blood Art: Inverse]!"**

Both paper nettings break through the ring.

[Stasis] turns into [Motion].

The ring soars towards the ruined shrine.

[Compact] turns into [Expand].

The diamond on the ring transforms into a silver-colored _sheathed katana_.

Hyakkimaru catches the flying blade in his left hand as his ruined yukata falls to reveal his plain white loincloth.

**"You honestly think a mere weapon can make much of a difference?"** Muzan snarled out as he ripped off his ruined suit top.

**"A normal weapon, for sure."** Hyakkimaru stated.

He then begins to unsheath the katana.

**"But who said _anything_ about _'a mere weapon'_?"**

The blade then is then unleashed as the silver sheathe is tossed aside, revealing a _pearlescent-white-bladed_ katana.

The others then get a closer look at the moonlit-sword.

"Is that..." Tanjiro breathed out in awe.

"... A _Nichirin Blade_." Giyuu finished. "In a hands of a _demon_."

"Okay, now I've seen everything." Zenitsu then just sits down in resignation.

"It would be blasphemy for a demon to wield such weapon that slays his own kin, but we've already met Kaigaku and his [Lightning Breathing] being used for selfish ends." Kanao pointed out.

"But why's the blade _pearlescent white_?" Genya asked. "I mean, it's not _milky white_ like the Mist Pillar's katana, but that thing looks like it's been forged out of _pearls_."

"It's almost like the moon itself has turned into a blade..." Inosuke stared at the blade.

Nezuko also stares at the blade, as if its alluring her to come closer.

Tanjiro covers her eyes, preventing her from being lured in.

**"A Nichirin Blade. How novel."** Muzan dryly replied.

**"I'd prefer the term... _eclectic_."** Hyakkimaru replied. **"Tossed in a shitload of Cobalt Snow Iron Sand and Cobalt Snow Ore that I dug up from the peak of Mt. Everest, tossed all of that shit into Lao Tzu's Shen Clam, got the pearl, melted it down, and made it into a sweet, sweet, katana at a local smithery at Hokkaido. And all of that only took me roughly 365 years to finish the damn thing, and an additonal half-century running around Europe after it got stolen before I got it back in an auction in New York."**

A lured in demon tries to jump on Hyakkimaru, but upon the blade making contact with the lesser demon, the demon_ instantly disintegrates_ into dust.

**"Oh and word of advice: do not go up to Mt. Everest."** Hyakkimaru directed it towards the Demon Slayers behind him. **"The lack oxygen will kill you lot before frostbite."**

"The mountain is that high up...?" Tanjiro blinked.

**"Now where were we..."** Hyakkimaru wondered. **"Oh right."**

Hyakkimaru then points his blade towards Muzan.

**"My undivided attention is now yours, Kibutsuji Muzan-sama."**

The two Elder Demons now stand under the moonlight.

The bronze bell at the center crashes onto the stone floor, resonating a loud *gong*, signaling the two demons to charge towards each other.

"Can Hakanai-san can do this...?" Tanjiro asked.

The two demons draw ever closer.

Júhuā approaches Tanjiro and places her hands onto Tanjiro and Nezuko's shoulders.

"... It won't be in vain."

The two Elder Demons jump up into the air.

**"DIE, HYAKKIMARU!"**

**"[Moon Breathing: Second Form-Crescent Moon (Midnight)]!"**

The two silhouettes clash behind the visage of the crescent moonlight.

* * *

**Post-Credit Gag: Kimetsu No Yaiba: ****Hyakki Yagyō**

* * *

*Four people suddenly fall onto a backdrop with manga panels depicting various scenes of the Hyakki Yagyō*

**Tanjiro:** Ow ow oww... Well... as first impressions go, my very first urban festival could've gone better.

*Nezuko nods in agreement while petting Tanjiro's head*

**Zenitsu: **Seriously!? I thought festivals were supposed to be relaxing!

**Inosuke: **Well, food was okay. *Snort*

**Tanjiro: **Well, I'm glad the situation didn't get too out of hand...

**Giyuu: **Ahem.

*Giyuu walks into frame*

**Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke: **GYAH! Tomioka-taichou!?

**Giyuu:** I've also received the message from my crow as well. That and those two also received the exact same message and followed me as extra eyes and ears.

*Genya and Kanao appear next to Giyuu*

**Genya: **Hey.

**Kanao: **Hello everyone. I see that all of you are faring well.

*Inosuke's stomach grumbles*

**Zenitsu: **Restroom, now.

*Zenitsu pushes Inosuke off-frame*

**Tanjiro: **... Anywho, I suppose that's that. So I wonder if Hakanai-san is all right...

*A certain fedora-wearing demon appears in the frame right in the middle of the cast*

**Muzan: Where?**

**Everyone Else: KIBUTSUJI MUZAN!?**

**Muzan: Where is that bastard Hyakkimaru-**

*A demon's head pops out from the top of the frame*

**Hyakkimaru****: Sup.**

**Muzan: Hold still, you bastard!**

*Muzan tries to jump up towards Hyakkimaru*

**Muzan: Why!? Why can't I reach where you are!?**

**Hyakkimaru: These segments are usually low-res in terms of animation, so you can't even jump up to me, let alone, resume our fight on where we left off.**

**Muzan: ... Be grateful that the gods have graced me with the mere thought of clemency.**

*Nezuko sticks out her middle finger towards Muzan's direction*

**Muzan: Don't push your luck, girl.**

**Tanjiro: **And now for another "Taishō Secret"! Apparently, goldfish scooping was put into mainstream around 5 years ago, and the _poi_ (goldfish scoop) was a recent invention that allowed this pastime to be so popular!

**Muzan: Even I admit I sort of enjoyed that pastime...**

**Tnajiro: **Hey, maybe when we're not killing each other, we could hang out sometime.

**Muzan: Not on your damn life, filthy human.**

**Giyuu: **Accursed limited animation preventing me from drawing my blade...

**Tanjiro: **Well, let's hope that next week we can see the conclusion of that fight between Hakanai-san and Muzan!

*Hyakkimaru laughs nervously*

**Tanjiro:** What's wrong?

**Hyakkimaru: There no continuation.**

**Everyone Else: EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?**

**Hyakkimaru: So see you all never, folks, and please continue to support Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime! Sayonara!**

**Muzan: I WILL GUT YOU, YOU MOTHERFU-**

* * *

**The End**

**(終わり)**

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Nothing to see here, folks.

No continuations, nada.

Just doin' this for fun, folks.

Thank you, and goodnight!


End file.
